Barnsley left feeling blue as Fahey sees Birmingham go marching upwards: Barnsley 1 Birmingham City 3

In-form Blues showed no signs of fatigue in their 44th game of the season as they followed up their impressive FA Cup draw at Chelsea with a deserved victory against Keith Hill’s side.

Chris Burke set the ball rolling with an early opener which was deflected in off Tykes captain Rob Edwards and the impressive Fahey was also on target in the first half after Barnsley’s leading scorer Craig Davies’s 10th goal of the season had brought the home side level.

Substitute Nathan Redmond sealed the points for Chris Hughton’s side with a third goal after great work from Fahey and Burke to leave Blues five points behind second-placed Southampton with a game in hand.

It took Blues just six minutes to take the lead, with Marlon King capitalising on a mistake from Jim McNulty on the touchline and cutting the ball back for Burke, whose goal-bound left-foot shot was deflected in off the head of centre-half Edwards.

But the Tykes were level 18 minutes in, when debutant David Cotterill looked to be upended in the penalty area but after referee Carl Boyeson waved play on the winger picked himself up to cut the ball back for Davies, who drilled home with a clinical right-foot finish.

Burke was giving Tykes left-back Jay McEveley a torrid time and the winger fired over the bar before the impressive Fahey swivelled and fired the visitors back in front with a venomous left-foot drive from 20 yards which went in off the far post.

Barnsley’s leading scorer Davies was proving to be a handful for the Birmingham defence and the summer signing from Chesterfield had his head in hands 10 minutes before half-time when his measured right-foot strike rattled the crossbar.

Barnsley were struggling to contain Burke and the former Cardiff man foxed McEveley with an exquisite piece of skill but his cross was deflected away from King as the striker prepared to pull the trigger.

Blues midfielder Jordon Mutch had a lucky escape when he sliced a tame corner from the right just wide of his own goal.

But Hughton’s side gave themselves some breathing space with a third goal 13 minutes from time after a brisk break which involved Fahey and Burke, the two best players on the park.

Irish midfielder Fahey was the architect, with a raking long-range pass into the path of Burke and he crossed to the back post where the onrushing Redmond finished emphatically with his left foot just four minutes after coming on as Blues sauntered to a fifth consecutive away win.

Barnsley: Steele, Wiseman, Edwards, McNulty, McEveley (Golbourne 73), Cotterill (O’Brien 61), Digby, Smith (Tonge 73), Done, Dagnall, Davies. Unused substitutes: Preece, Gray.

Birmingham: Myhill, Spector (Ibanez 90), Davies, Caldwell, Murphy, Burke, Mutch, Fahey, Gomis (Redmond 73), Elliott, King (Rooney 73). Unused substitutes: Doyle, Jervis.

Referee: C Boyeson (E Yorkshire).

West Ham survived the 56th-minute sending-off of Robert Green – and the handicap of having no substitute goalkeeper – to thrash Blackpool 4-1 at Bloomfield Road and return to the top of the Championship.

Green was dismissed for hauling down Roman Bednar with his side 2-1 ahead and midfielder Henri Lansbury was forced to take over in the net, but Sam Allardyce’s side eventually eased home to leapfrog Southampton in the table. James Tomkins and Nicky Maynard put Hammers ahead before Kevin Phillips responded for the home side on the stroke of half-time.

Goals from Gary O’Neil and Ricardo Vaz Te secured victory.

Chris Powell’s Charlton extended their lead at the top of League One to seven points but were left frustrated after having to settle for a 1-1 draw against lowly Rochdale at The Valley. Nicky Adams stunned the hosts by firing Dale into a 53rd-minute lead but it lasted just three minutes before Yann Kermogant blasted a free-kick equaliser.

Dean Bowditch scored both goals as MK Dons consolidated fifth place with a 2-1 win over Bury.

Florent Cuvelier’s goal saw Walsall leapfrog Scunthorpe with a 1-0 win at Glanford Park.

Paolo Di Canio’s Swindon took advantage of slip-ups by rivals Cheltenham and Southend to clamber to the League Two summit with a 2-1 win over Shrewsbury.